I’ve previously announced that I am moving and have some other life changes going on that I may talk about at a later date.  It was during the moving process that I had my first experience using an emergency fund.  I’m so glad I had saved.

We plan for it, we save for it, we know it’s coming, but we’re never mentally prepared for emergencies.  If we could get through emergencies with a clear head we probably wouldn’t call them emergencies at all.  Here’s what happened to me.  The Sheconomist and myself rented a truck to move all our stuff to a new apartment.  This is a new area neither of us are familiar with and we don’t know anyone near by.  My parents also came for emotional support, and help lifting boxes.  The first morning after our drive my dad calls to report his car had been broken into.  They were looking for the GPS which was safe in a hotel.  Unfortunately the cost to replace broken windows is about the same as a GPS, but insurance took care of most of it.  As Dad was explaining this to me The Sheconomist and I had just dropped off the truck and were driving back to our news digs.  My fiancé reports of a weird sound and seconds later the tire pressure monitoring system on my car went off.  I pulled into a parking lot just in time to watch my driver’s side rear tire deflate.  I’m handy with a hammer but I leave car work to professionals, so I called out a service man to put on my donut.  Sadly this could not be done because of the wheel locks on the rims.  I did not have the key.  The nice fellow did offer to tow my car back to the apartment which was grand.  He did this for free, bless him.

Back home this never would have been a problem because someone could pick me up and I could continue my life while the car gets fixed, perhaps taking a little extra time to find a good price on repair and towing (the car has to be towed to a dealership which will have a master key).  But here in this new town I had my parents out of commission due to broken glass and had just returned the truck.  My parents and fiancé were leaving to go back home the next morning and so panic was starting to set in for me.  We still had a lot to do and no car to accomplish it with!

The next morning the expenses started piling up.  It cost me $84 for a tow (I’m soo going back to AAA) and then the dealership was going to charge another $50 or so for a new key and a tire plug.  Not astronomical amounts but the way I run my finances there is no room for this expense.  To make it worse the tire couldn’t be plugged and so I needed to buy a new tire.  $200 later I’m finally driving again, but I’d lost 24 hours of the time I had with my family.

Now many of you might be thinking $284 is an insignificant amount.  It might be to you but to many Americans $284 in unplanned expenses could wipe them out.  Moving is a stressful exercise.  Adding to the stress was the fact that I’m going to be in a new area, my dad’s car was broken into, and some other personal things.  It was soooooo damn nice to not have to think twice about the money I was spending to take care of my car.  I would have paid twice what I did to get back on the road and I don’t care if I was ripped off or not.  Thanks to my emergency fund, no expense was too large and I don’t have to worry about how I’ll pay off my credit card.  The next emergency might be $2,000 but that doesn’t matter; I’ve saved enough so that when it does come I won’t have to think about how much it’s going to cost me.

By The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist is the founder of Weakonomics. Clicking the picture of the puppy will tell you more about him. If you like what you're reading consider subscribing to the blog, following him on Twitter, and checking out the related posts below. Please consider a donation if you really enjoy Weakonomics.

categories: personal, personal finance